


Boots and Blood

by WolfyWordWeaver



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Blood and Injury, Car Chases, Cowboys & Cowgirls, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Homophobic Language, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Pets, Underage Drinking, Violence, honky tonk bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:02:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23813491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfyWordWeaver/pseuds/WolfyWordWeaver
Summary: Lily manages to convince Remus to sneak out for the night with her and shows him a whole new world that includes amateur bull riders, bar fights, and car chases.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 16
Kudos: 52





	Boots and Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Title of this one-shot was inspired by Garth Brooks' song "Rodeo". I fully intended on this being nothing but a steamy PWP, but those boys insisted on being all warm and cute with each other. :P

"Lily, why are we doing this again?" Remus practically whimpered.

The loud music could be clearly heard through the heavy doors and the steady flood of young adults pouring in and out were definitely not the crowd that Remus usually hung around with. It wasn't a place that he would have expected Lily to frequent either, but the fact that they were walking into the bar spoke otherwise. As did the skin-tight jeans and the low-cut v-neck she was currently sporting.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud," she giggled and he was definitely sure that she had never giggled like that before. "I just want to try having some fun for the first time, Remus!" she added, showing off her fake ID to the bouncer. "Want to do it before we head off to college."

Remus tried not to shake too badly as he showed off his fake ID. It wasn't the first time that night that he wondered how he got convinced to go along with this nonsense. It definitely didn't have anything to do with the tiny voice in the back of his head that begged for him to finally break a rule, dammit. Getting a fake ID had been a fun and thrilling venture, but he hadn't ever really considered using it.

"Dad is going to kill me," he sang under his breath as they finally stepped into the smoke-filled room. "Oh hell, they have a bull," he groaned and Lily just laughed. 

There was already a line of people waiting to ride the mechanical bull and Remus couldn't believe that anyone would actually want to endure that embarrassment. A woman laughed drunkenly as she was thrown off in less than five seconds. It seemed like an even worse thing to do when your equilibrium was hindered thanks to intoxication.

"He won't find out," Lily soothed before she began squealing excitedly and dragging Remus towards the pool tables. "There he is!"

"You never mentioned a _he_!" Remus gasped as he almost lost hold of her grip.

"James!" she cried and as he burst through the crowd Remus saw a tall dark-haired boy hopping dramatically over the pool table to the chagrin of the man he was playing against.

"Lily!" James cried before sweeping her away from Remus and swinging her around just as people did in the movies. "Hey, baby! Glad you could make it!"

"I brought my friend Remus today," she explained breathlessly, still in his arms where he was holding her eye-level. "I couldn't get out without him because my mom's been getting suspicious."

Remus bristled at that new information and then grimaced as she promptly pressed her mouth against James' and they engaged in tonsil hockey. The calm, cool class president he had known for over ten years was now aggressively and lewdly making out with this stranger and Remus was beginning to wonder if he knew her at all.

"Quite disgusting, ain't it?" a voice said cheerily next to him causing Remus to startle. 

He turned to tell the man to mind his own business but the words died immediately in his throat. White cowboy hat. White t-shit with the short sleeves rolled up in cuffs. Gigantic shiny belt buckle that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else. Tight blue jeans. Scuffed up alligator boots. And all that attire so neatly dressing up the most gorgeous man Remus had ever laid eyes on. Shoulder length black wavy hair, million-watt smile, muscular arms, and shockingly grey eyes that wanted to transport him away to a land of nothing but mischief and pleasure. Oh yes, he could see trouble spelled out in neon lights in those eyes.

"Sorry to spring this on you, Remus!" Lily laughed without an ounce of remorse. He startled again and this brought out a laugh in all three of the people looking at him. "This here is James, my boyfriend," she introduced gesturing to the man with his hand tucked into her jeans' back pockets, "and this is his best friend, Sirius!"

"Sirius like the star," the man drawled proudly, tucking a thumb in one of his belt loops and bringing attention back to the large shiny belt buckle. And the delicious bulge just underneath.

"Uh, yeah, Canis Major right?" Remus mumbled as he jerked his eyes back up.

"That's right!" James cheered. "'Course he'd be smart if he's a friend of Lily's!"

 _"Not smart enough to have anticipated this"_ , Remus thought to himself. 

"Let's dance!" she commanded and James obliged immediately.

Remus glanced helplessly at the other man. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that we were meeting anyone. I've never even been in a bar before."

"That's no problem," Sirius barked laughing. "C'mon, dance with me. I'll show ya how to dance." He leaned in close and pressed his lips against Remus' ear. "Jus' let me lead, darlin'."

It suddenly felt overwhelmingly hot in the crowded place, the music cranked up far too loudly and Remus swallowed thickly. Was this why Lily had brought him along? Did she know that Sirius was gay too? Was she trying to set them up? Was Sirius in on this whole thing? Is that why she hadn't said anything in the first place?! Before he could stutter out an excuse to get away, Remus was once again being pulled through the crowd but this time the manhandler didn't let go and he was pulled up against the lithe body as a new song came up to many hoots and hollers. The beat was a lot more peppy than what Remus usually considered country music, and the hips swaying against him were entirely closer than he had ever been with another person. Not even Lily hugged so closely to him at all the school dances they attended together. 

"S-sorry!" he stuttered as he stepped on Sirius' boot.

Another barking laugh fluttered over his ears as the arm around his lower back squeezed. "Don' worry about the boots. They're all scuffed anyway."

There were a few other missteps, but they soon found a rhythm and Remus couldn't help but be drawn in by the warmth of the man holding him. He was just a couple of inches shorter than Remus, but the force of his personality seemed to make him ten feet tall. The multicolored lights flashed off his brilliant white teeth and those pink lips promised many things. They didn't talk much, but Remus could feel an energy thrumming between them. Just as he felt himself relaxing into the second song, a strong bump knocked him forward and nearly wiped out both him and Sirius.

"Sorry!" he cried out as he turned but he immediately blushed as he saw the unfriendly man glaring at him.

"Hey, piss off!" Sirius shouted angrily before pulling Remus back against him.

"You should get the hell out, damn faggots!" the man growled threateningly as he pulled away from the woman in his arms.

"Uh, maybe we should-" Remus tried but Sirius stepped in front of him with his palm menacingly popping the fingers on his other hand. 

"Say that again, pig face!" Sirius taunted.

"Let's grab a drink!" Remus shouted, grabbing hold of one of Sirius' arm just as the woman took hold of her man's arm and seemed to try to calm things down as well. 

"Fuckin' asshole," the feisty raven-haired man grumbled as he shot one last death glare to the large man before following behind Remus to the bar. 

Remus could feel his heart pounding in his chest for an entirely different reason than it had while he had danced with Sirius. His hands were shaking as they stepped up to order and Remus was suddenly faced with the fact that he had no clue what to order. Sirius angrily ordered a glass of whiskey and Remus just mumbled a quick, "What he has."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You like whiskey too?"

"Uh, well, yeah."

A grin curled back on those lips as he easily drank down the amber liquid. Remus took his glass tentatively and smelled at the drink for a second before bringing it to his lips like he would a soda. The moment it burned in his throat he coughed up and nearly spilled the drink all over his shirt before Sirius whisked it out of his hands with another laugh. Sirius downed the rest of the drink before Remus even got his coughing under control. 

"Lily can barely put a beer down," he teased as he patted Remus' back good-naturedly. "No need to try to impress me, darlin'. Let's try a Bud for ya."

Remus nodded in embarrassment, especially after the other man paid for all three drinks.

"I can pay," he tried, but Sirius just grinned widely and shook his head. 

"My treat, darlin'. It's been a good week."

Remus put the bottle to his lips and took a careful sip, thankful that it wasn't nearly as strong as that whiskey had been. It still tasted sour, but at least he didn't make a fool of himself again.

"Thanks," he settled on as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Who even knew where Lily and her surprise boyfriend were?

"I'd like to kiss ya," Sirius stated boldly as he stepped right back up into Remus' space.

"W-what? We don't even know each other."

Sirius shrugged. "I ain't got to know your deepest and darkest secrets to know that I want to kiss ya."

Grey hypnotic eyes looked towards Remus' lips and the teen unconsciously licked them in anticipation. Remus felt that unbearable heat surround him again, and in that smoke filled haze he couldn't think of one good reason not to kiss this man. Leaning forward, he accepted the excitable kiss and gasped softly as it deepened immediately. Sirius was not a patient man, apparently. Much like his bold personality, his kisses were wild and overwhelming, their height difference not seeming to bother him at all as he stood on his tip toes to press Remus back up against the wall. Both of his arms were wrapped behind Remus' neck and the dizzy young man grasped at a bony hip with his free hand while awkwardly clutching the bottle of beer with his other hand. It wasn't his first kiss, but Remus couldn't for the life of himself remember anybody else's as his mouth was plundered so passionately. 

They parted for breath and Remus was glad for the support of the wall as Sirius leaned forward to quickly swipe his tongue along Remus' lower lip to break the string of saliva between them. Sirius looked ready to delve back in but a familiar voice broke their lusty haze. 

"So fucking disgusting! Fags!"

The sneer twisted on those kiss-swollen lips and Sirius wheeled around to face the bulky man that had harassed them on the dance floor.

"Oh really? And here I was thinkin' that you jus' liked the show, followin' us around an' all."

That brought an angry flush over the man's face. "No one would want to see that, freak!"

This time Sirius didn't hesitate in drawing back his fist and slamming it right into the man's angry face. Remus watched aghast as the fight began in earnest to a few hoots and taunts. The man was trying to use his much larger frame to overwhelm Sirius, but the smaller man obviously had a good deal of experience as his blows were quick and well placed. A large hand grabbed the front of Remus' shirt and jerked him towards another unfriendly man with his own fist cocked back for a punch before he was side-tackled by Sirius. Remus stumbled back and fell on his ass, the bottle in his hand clattering to the floor as well and spilling its contents. He could barely comprehend the wild laughing issuing from Sirius' mouth as the crazed cowboy shoved the second man off and landed two solid blows before taking one to his ribs. The first guy rounded on him and Sirius stepped back to grab the bottle, smashing it against the wall over Remus' head before wielding the jagged end threateningly. The glittering rain of glass fell over Remus as he ducked his head in shock. 

"That's enough!" a loud voice commanded angrily. "Black, put that bottle the hell down, boy!"

Sirius seemed to calm a little at the voice but kept his aggressive stance. "Not till these fuckers clear out, Abe."

An older man with a long grey beard who looked like he had belonged to a biker gang at one point stood next to Sirius and jerked the broken bottle out of his hand. "I told you last time, no fucking fighting in my place!" he growled at Sirius before turning to the two other men. "And you two, get the hell out of my bar before I call the police!"

"He started it!" asshole number one yelled angrily.

"This is an inclusive bar," the older man stated firmly, "and as it says on the damned sign everyone is welcome unless they're lookin' for a fight. You don' like it? Then scram."

The two men had a few choice words, but they turned on their heels and walked out, Remus just noticing a bouncer hovering nearby who made sure that they were escorted out. 

"A lot of good that bouncer did, Abe," Sirius laughed as he wiped the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand, the bloody knuckles not helping to clean up the red smears.

"He's new," Abe grumbled as he looked away from Sirius and down to Remus. "You okay, kid?"

As if just remembering that Remus had been involved, Sirius jumped and rushed over to him. "You okay, darlin'? I mean, he didn't get a hit in, did he?"

"I'm fine," Remus muttered shakily, more scared over the threat to have the police called than he had been of getting punched in the face.

"Sorry about your beer," he apologized with a soft smile. "I'll get you another one."

"I'm fine," Remus responded instantly thinking that Sirius didn't need access to another weapon anytime soon. 

"I mean it, Sirius," Abe chided gruffly. "One more fight and I'm kicking you out for the night."

"Sure thing," Sirius responded easily as if the fight had been nothing more than a friendly dance around the floor. 

A young lady with the black t-shirt uniform of the bar was already mopping up the spilled beer and sweeping up the broken glass. The other patrons that had been watching already turned away and were minding their own business again. 

"Damn, Sirius!" the familiar voice of James called out through the crowd. "You didn't even wait for me to get jumped in!"

Those bright teeth were smeared with red as he grinned at his friend. "You're gettin' slow, James! If you weren't off makin' out with the lady then you'd have had a chance to skin your knuckles."

"Anyways, want to head off to the canyon?" James asked with a shrug. "I want to show Lily the stars."

Remus shot a warning glance to Lily but she only had eyes for James. Sirius shrugged. "That's fine. Let's stop by our place first and grab the dogs."

"The dogs?" Remus squeaked. He wasn't exactly an animal person.

"Yeah, they love running through the canyon." Grey eyes examined Remus' cautious figure and took note of the scars over his face. "Did dogs do that number on your face?"

He nodded slowly. "When I was a kid," he mumbled.

"Just meet the dogs, okay? If you're still nervous after seeing them we can leave them."

"I don't know..."

"They're really sweet, Remus," Lily chimed in and Remus stared at her again. She had been to their place? "Come on, let's get going or we'll never get there. We can follow them to the house and then just ride with them down to the canyon."

"Perfect!" James responded with a quick kiss to her temple. "Let's go!"

**

"What the hell are we doing?" Remus muttered as they pulled off the highway to one of those sketchy side roads that led to a locked cattle gate. James jumped out from the truck in front of them and opened it up before their little caravan continued. He hadn't really spoken much to Lily as they followed to other two, partially out of frustration at the situation and partially because he didn't want to end the most exciting night of his life.

Lily leaned over to lower the volume on the pop song station and smiled softly at her friend. "You've been really great about everything, Remus. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything earlier, but I was pretty scared that you wouldn't come with me if I did."

He sighed heavily. She was right. "How long have you been dating this James guy?"

"About a month," she muttered as she picked at the shredded knee of her jeans. "I met him at the grocery store and when he started inviting me out to the bars I got real excited and just went with it, ya know?"

"So he doesn't know that you're only 18?"

She shook her head. "He's just barely 21 so I didn't think it'd be too big a deal."

"It's still lying to him."

Her green eyes sharpened. "I don't need a lecture, Remus."

Another shrug. "How old is Sirius?"

"I think he's 21 too. They were best friends through school or something. Do you like him?"

"Is that why you brought me?" he finally asked. "Besides needing a damn ride, I mean."

Ignoring the barb of his second statement she grinned and nodded. "I knew that you'd need a confident gay guy to get you to come out of your shell a bit."

"I don't need anyone, Lily," he sighed. "We're getting ready to go to college. Why spend our summer building up relationships if they're just going to end come August?"

"There's nothing wrong with hooking up and having fun, Remus! Come on, I know that you've just been itching to break loose a little!"

She was partially right. Hadn't he just been whining to her that he was tired of being the perfect boy for his parents? That he wished his dad wasn't a state trooper? That he wished he could finally come out to his parents? He just wasn't too keen on the idea of sleeping around and messing with the emotions of another guy. 

"Do you think that's all he wants? A hook up?"

Digging around the floorboard for the bag of sour gummies she knew was hiding, her response came out muffled. "I don't know, probably. He's going to be touring soon I think."

"Touring?"

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed as she sat up with the desired candy. "I forgot to tell you! He's an amateur bull rider!"

A blush crept up Remus' throat as he immediately visualized Sirius riding something other than a bull. 

"Oh," he squeaked out. 

Fuck - boots, hat, chaps, and nothing else. 

"James invited me to one of his rides at the end of the week, you should come to!"

"Maybe," he sighed as they rolled over another cattle grate. "At least you're being honest with me this time." There was a tinge of bitterness in his words.

This time she sighed loudly in annoyance. "Listen, I already said sorry. Quit being crappy, Remus. If you want to ditch, that's fine. Just leave me when we get to their place."

Glancing down at the clock he knew that he wouldn't be ditching her tonight. She was supposed to be spending the night at Alice's tonight and Alice only agreed to cover for her if Remus stayed with her all night. He was the _responsible_ one. If she came to Alice's place at 3am smelling of alcohol and being dropped off by a strange guy Alice would castrate him. 

"Just promise me that you're at least being thoughtful about your recklessness."

This brought a smile to her lips. "I am, Remus. I promise."

"Okay."

They pulled up to a double wide trailer that seemed to have just been dropped in the middle of nowhere. Parking beside the lifted truck that Sirius had been driving, he shut the engine off just in time to hear Sirius howling excitedly as he walked up to his porch. Remus felt his skin prickle in nervousness as two very large shadows darted through the brush and cactus before jumping onto the expecting figure of the crazy cowboy. Sirius laughed as the hairy beasts jumped around him excitedly and he ran his hands over their eyes and muzzles easily. Lily patted Remus' tense arm.

"They're really sweet," she reassured. "And I'm sure that he'll make them stay in the bed of the truck."

He shakily opened the driver's side door and slowly stepped out with his eyes firmly set on the dogs. They turned to face the newcomers and even made to move towards them but a sharp command from Sirius had them immediately planting their butts in the dirt, both sets of tails creating a cloud of dust as they wagged back and forth. 

"They won't touch ya," Sirius stated confidently. "C'mere. I want them to get a whiff of ya but you don' need to get close enough for them to touch ya, 'kay?"

He sauntered over and took Remus by the elbow with his hands already bruised and swollen from the fight, and pulled him in front of the dogs who were whimpering in desire to move but dared not to disobey their master. Lily had already climbed into the truck with James and Remus thought he would have felt more in danger without his best friend, but he was surprised to find that he felt pretty protected just by Sirius' presence alone. Granted, the man had taken on two much larger men in a fist fight and didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the danger. His own two dogs had nothing on that. Probably. 

"What are their names?" he asked as they came to a pause in front of the sniffing creatures.

"The one on the left is Padfoot," he gestured to the giant beast whose paws were probably the size of Remus' hands, "and this softy is Snuffles." As if on cue, the black haired dog made a huffy-snuffy sound that made Remus chuckle a little. "They're both work dogs so they've been trained well. Can't have them disobeying me around the cattle or anything."

"Aren't you in the rodeo?" Remus asked curiously, his eyes still firmly on the beasties.

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, but I work with the cattle that the Potters own when I'm not doin' that. Did it before gettin' into the rodeo school too."

"Um, would they stay in the bed of the truck? The dogs."

"Yeah," Sirius replied with a wide grin that split open the broken lip again. "They're used to it."

"Okay," Remus sighed with a grimace. "Um, as long as they don't jump all over me."

"Sweet!" Sirius pushed up on his toes and pressed a quick kiss to Remus' lips before calling out commands to the dogs in something that didn't sound much like English. Both of them rushed up to the bed of the truck and jumped into it without even needing any help up. "Hop up in the passenger seat, darlin' while I get the dogs situated."

**

Remus had never been in a manual 4x4 pickup truck before and he watched as Sirius handled it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. They seemed to be the only vehicle out on the interstate that wasn't a semi truck and it was a strangely soothing experience sans the sounds of Lily and James loudly making out on the bench behind him and Sirius. The bull-riding amateur had only rolled his eyes before rolling down his windows to allow the deafening roar of the wind blowing to overtake the lip smacking, but that also meant that he and Remus couldn't really have any conversations either. As the truck was manual, Remus couldn't even have the small pleasure of hand-holding through the drive.

Not that he expected Sirius to _want_ to hold his hand. They weren't dating or anything even remotely close to that. 

It wasn't until the flashing blue lights came up behind them that Remus glanced over at the speedometer that was reading 100 mph. He choked in horror and glanced back at the state trooper vehicle.

"Oh fucking shit!" he yelled over the wind. "That might be my dad!!!"

He was never going to be allowed out of his house ever again. Lily was cussing up a storm behind him and James glanced back at the flashing lights before giving Sirius a look.

Sirius pressed on the button to allow the all-wheel drive and shrugged. "Don' worry, darlin'. I ain't never been pulled over yet."

"WHAT?" he gasped before he heard the engine revving and they were pitching right off the highway and into the dirt straight towards the barbed wire fencing and the darkness of canyons and the plains.

Remus was sure that he was screaming in terror as they all bounced around the cab of the truck with each rut and rock they hit before they ripped right through the fencing between posts. Sirius laughed loudly enough to be heard over everything as he flipped off his lights and they were pitched into the darkness, with only the hazy red and blue chasing them down. James was whooping along, egging Sirius to go even faster, not caring what plant life they were mowing down or the fact that there were probably cattle trying to sleep somewhere nearby. 

It was like being in a movie, Remus thought casually in his fear-addled brain. This was what he got for going along with Lily and her dangerous ideas and drinking alcohol when he was underage. Death by driving right off the edge of a canyon or by hitting a cow and being crushed through the windshield. Praise the Lord he was buckled, but that wouldn't really help in either of the situations. The bed of the truck whipped to the side and Remus had the sudden and horrific mental image of both of Sirius' dogs flying out and smearing across the plains in a painful yet quick death. Sure, he disliked dogs, but he didn't want them to die like that. Another mad slide over the hard-packed dirt had Remus banging his head against the door and he was absolutely certain that if this crazy drive didn't kill them all then he would kill Lily. Maybe this nut-case would help him bury her body somewhere remote.

Another expletive screeched past his lips as the truck slid down a bank and their forward momentum was jerked to a halt before the cowboy was reversing the truck into a little cranny. All four passengers were panting heavily as they listened to the sounds of the sirens and wheels on the dirt. Sirius shut off the engine and they all seemed to hold their breaths for a few minutes. The state trooper vehicle drove around for a while and a headlight was shone down into the dry wash but in less than 20 minutes there was nothing but the silence of the desert nightlife. 

Lily giggled and the ice seemed to break. 

"Nice job, Sirius!" James congratulated. 

"Are your dogs even still back there?" Remus asked breathlessly. 

"That was so freakin' awesome!" Lily breathed out between giggles.

"Dang it, I hope they are," Sirius growled as he spun around and stuck his head out the window to whistle. A couple of barks responded and he breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to the pale Remus he offered an infuriating wink. "Haven't lost one of my dogs yet either."

"You are an absolute basket case," Remus growled and the young man only laughed in response. "I suppose sane people don't generally want to get on madly bucking bulls either, so..."

Remus stared at this ridiculous man and wanted to beat the shit out of him. Instead, he lunged forward and smashed their lips together. Sirius was surprised for less than half a second before he was aggressively biting and kissing back much to the entertainment of the other two passengers.

"Whoo hoo! We get a show, Lily!"

"You go, Remus!" the red-head cheered. 

The sudden pressure of large hands groping his jean-clad ass made Remus moan in surprise before he promptly pulled away, burning in embarrassment. What the hell was he doing? Sirius followed for one last nip at his lips before releasing him and turning over the engine. 

"Alright, kiddies," he mumbled as he glanced around. "I'm gonna keep the lights out for a while 'cause I've got trust issues and I don' want to be surprised by a state trooper tonight."

"But, didn't they get your license plate number written down?" Remus asked suddenly feeling pretty stupid. There was no way that they could ever get away with such reckless behavior. 

"Aw, sure, but it's a fake plate."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius mumbled as his grey eyes darted around while he drove in the dark. "I collect license plates from junkyard cars all the time and stuff. I've got a whole collection and I'll just switch out the plates when we next stop."

"But...doesn't that make them want to pull you over even more?!" Remus could feel the headache rolling up the back of his head. 

"Only if they run my plates, darlin'," Sirius replied snarkily. "Which they don't always, so it's kind of a gamble. I'll have my real plates on when I'm not planning anything foolish and reckless."

"Is that ever?" he responded dryly and that earned another round of laughter from the back bench.

"You know what? You're exactly what we've been needing in our group," James exclaimed with a hearty pat to his shoulder. "The mostly reasonable but secretly bat-shit crazy guy."

"He's definitely an adrenaline junkie when he let's himself be," Lily teased. "That's probably why his dad has been so strict."

"Hey," Remus weakly protested. 

"Don' worry," Sirius teased as he whipped his head to the side to maneuver around something. "I don' mind the repressed bad-boy type."

Remus rubbed at the bump on his head and decided not to pay attention to the fools surrounding him. 

**

"Okay, I reluctantly admit that this is nice."

"High praise indeed," Sirius drawled as he nudged his shoulder into Remus'. 

Two shadowy figures rushed by and Remus tensed as he watched the dogs tackle and play with each other before disappearing around a bend. Then his eyes were drawn back to the stunning view of the starry sky, completely shocked at the fact that he could see the whispy white of the Milky Way. It was unreal and a part of him wondered if Sirius had actually been pulling his leg about that. It was gorgeous, and nothing like he had ever seen before. 

"You never see this in the city," he mumbled. "I always knew that light pollution was a thing that kept us from seeing the full night sky, but I didn't realize how much it actually blocked out."

A hand settled against his lower back and teased at the edge of his jeans and Remus felt the heat rolling through his body. Sirius wasn't being subtle, but he was thankfully taking it slowly. He was giving Remus the chance to back out, but for once the teen wasn't sure if he would. Lily had been right that they had lived their lives rejecting risks and doing the socially acceptable thing. He hadn't even gotten the nerves to come out to his parents much less find a boyfriend.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Sirius asked softly, fingers dipping below the waistband and rubbing against the hot skin. "I mean, besides the bar fight and the death-drive in the dark?"

Remus snorted and glanced down at the supremely confident man. "Hmm, I'm a bit on the fence."

"Can I help tilt that scale in my favor?" he replied with a wicked grin. 

"Hmm, maybe."

Remus looked back towards the truck with its steamed up windows and rocking motions. Lily was obviously having no issues letting herself indulge in the the pleasures of another. With a thick swallow he looked back at Sirius and smiled shakily. 

"We don' have to do anything," Sirius muttered. "Not even kissing if you don' want to."

Sirius started pulling his hand away, but Remus leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him. "I want to, Sirius," he whispered.

"Jus' let me know if I need to stop, hun," Sirius whispered back before he pressed up against those lips again. 

The shorter of the two managed to maneuver them both towards an outcropping where he found a comfortable seat and pulled Remus into his lap. Remus moaned softly at the thrilling pressure against his crotch and delved back into those whiskey-flavored lips. Maybe he was still drunk? Remus didn't care as those hands groped firmly against his backside and pulled him flush against the hard body underneath him, rocking up slightly and nearly knocking the breath out of him. Those heated lips began working shamelessly against his neck, teeth and tongue alternating the bites and soothing lap and Remus let his head fall back to allow more room to work. Glazed eyes stared into the endless space, almost finding himself getting lost in those depths while his body was sent higher into the hormonal heavens than he had ever been. 

There would be marks for sure and his parents would not be thrilled.

Lily could probably cover it up with makeup for him.

Knowing that no one else could hear him, Remus allowed himself the pleasure of unfiltered and wanton moans and groans. He ground shamelessly against the man below him, shuddering as he felt that thick stiffness responding. A part of him wondered if he should jump on the chance to finally give a blow job or maybe even more. There were so many things that a horny guy like him could do with a willing partner and Sirius was most definitely willing. But he was still scared of going too far and regretting it all. 

Who was he to Sirius? Just another notch on his belt, probably. 

"Where you goin'?" Sirius murmured against his throat.

"Ah, sorry," he replied in embarrassment. How much worse could he be as a partner? "It's not you," he added on with a grimace.

Those moist and swollen lips pulled completely off of him and those starlight eyes were studying him again. "We don' have to do anything, darlin'. Really, it'll be okay."

With a shake of his head, Remus decided that it wouldn't hurt to be honest right now. "I don't exactly have a lot of experience, and well, Lily said that you were just wanting something casual and I wasn't sure about how to handle... _this_. Whatever _this_ is."

Sirius continued to examine him although his eyes bore no semblance of disappointment or hard feelings. "How old are you?" he asked softly.

Now Remus' blush was burning brightly across his cheeks. "Er..." How could he answer that without getting Lily into trouble too? They had already made it clear that they were friends from school and there was nothing he could say now that could change that. But at the same time, he couldn't lie straight to Sirius' face. "I'm 18," he whispered in embarrassment. "Just graduated."

"At least you're the legal age of consent," Sirius shot back dryly and now Remus felt even worse. He and Lily could have gotten these guys in serious trouble if they had been pulled over or if anything ever came up and they hadn't been 18 yet. 

"Look, I'm sorry," Remus muttered miserably. "Lily convinced me to come tonight and I had no intentions of misleading anyone really, and..." The words wanted to stay caught in his throat where they were safer but he pressed them out. "...and I really do like you. I'm sorry."

Those large hands were rubbing softly at his lower back again, but this time clear of his waistband.

"What are you lookin' for?" Sirius asked before the eerie chorus of coyotes broke through the air. Remus startled and Sirius continued to rub his hands soothingly along the younger man's back. "They're a ways off and the dogs'll keep 'em away."

He leaned against the broad chest and rested his head against the cowboy's shoulder. "I guess that I feel pretty stupid, but I'd kind of like to not be a one and done thing. Maybe mean a bit more than a quick fuck. But I'm going off to college in the fall. I know that's not...that you won't want to mess with something like that."

"Oh, 'cause you know me so well already?" Sirius teased softly, his fingers poking playfully at Remus' ribs. 

Remus giggled softly and felt so at peace in the other man's arms. It just felt right. "Smartass."

"I am smart," Sirius crowed arrogantly, "and I do have a rather nice ass."

The two engaged in a half-hearted tickle fight for a minute before a cool breeze chased Remus back into the warm embrace. They were silent for a bit longer, the soft sound of the muffled radio from the truck added to the nightly cacophony. 

"I like animals," Sirius spoke up again. "I've rescued five dogs and two cats so far and intend to keep rescuing animals till I die."

"Hmm, okay," Remus whispered tiredly.

"I also graduated Valedictorian of my graduating class although I wasn't formally awarded the title due to being suspended for a chunk of that final year."

"Oh?" Honeyed brows wrinkled in confusion.

"Yeah, that's a pretty long story. Anyway, James an' I have been best friends since preschool. I also love Tex-Mex food and will arm wrestle you for a Whataburger with no mustard."

"I don't like mustard either."

"Look at that," Sirius grinned. "We've already got things in common."

Getting a tornado of butterflies in his stomach at what he thought Sirius was trying to do, Remus bit his lip before blurting out a few fact about himself. "I really like mythology and made it through my 18 years without ever learning the rules to football."

"No fucking way!" Sirius gasped incredulously. "Hell, don't tell me you're a _soccer_ fan."

Remus winced and shook his head quickly. "Definitely not. My not learning was more...a lame attempt at subverting expectations." He chuckled nervously.

"I played through middle and high school," Sirius stated with a shrug. "Only started bull riding this year."

"Ah. Um, I can play the harmonica if that helps. With my Texan card, or whatever."

That barking laugh was back and Remus felt quite proud of being the one to bring it out. 

"I'd like to kiss ya," Sirius drawled again, his words familiar but the tone so much softer. "And if you're amenable, I'd like your phone number too."

"Yes," Remus replied excitably.

"To kisses or your number?" Sirius teased.

"Both," he replied before leaning forward and boldly claiming those lips with his.

After a few moments Sirius pulled away and stared up into the green eyes with a twinkle in his own. "Let's give it a shot, eh darlin'? You an' me?"

"Yeah, let's," he replied breathlessly before leaning back in for more.

For Remus there was only the feel of those arms and the caress of those lips. 


End file.
